The adventures of Odysseus near the island of the Sirens are brief. The wanderings of Odysseus. After listening to Odysseus's story, the Phaeacians equipped a ship and sent it to Ita-ku. At this time, in his house, suitors pestered his wife Penelope. But she believed that Odysseus was alive and announced that she was getting married.

Sweet songs of the sirens. Odysseus knew from the words of Kirk that he would soon sail past the island where the sirens, half-women, half-birds, lived. With sweet-sounding songs they lure sailors to their island, and then tear them apart with sharp claws. Not a single person has ever passed this island alive.

Odysseus wanted to listen to extraordinary songs. And so he covered the ears of his comrades with wax so that they would not hear magical voices, and ordered himself to be tied to the mast with strong ropes and, no matter what he did, in no case to untie. The ship quickly rushed past the island, and wonderful sounds were heard from it:

To us. God-like Odysseus, great glory of the Achaeans, come to us with a ship; Enjoy the sweet singing of the sirens.

Here not a single sailor passes with his ship without listening to the heart-melting song in our meadow. But whoever heard us returns to the house, having learned a lot: We all know what is happening in the bosom of the multi-talented land. So the sirens sang; Odysseus was subdued by their singing, began to break free of the ropes, and made signs for his comrades to free him. But they leaned even harder on the oars, and only then untied Odysseus when he disappeared from sight scary island

and the singing was no longer heard. Scylla and Charybdis.

And then a terrible noise was heard in the distance: it was Charybdis raging. Odysseus ordered his companions to stay close to another cliff, but did not say a word about Skill. Pale with horror, the travelers looked at Charybdis; waves bubbled around her mouth, and in her deep belly, like in a cauldron, sea mud and water boiled. At this time, the terrible Skilla stretched out all her necks and grabbed six of Odysseus’s comrades; their legs flashed in the air, a drawn-out scream died away... But now the terrible strait was left behind, and again there was a calm sea ahead.

A month on the island of Trinacria. Odysseus did not want to stop on the island of Trinacria, remembering what Tiresias warned him about. But Eurylochus said on behalf of the other sailors: “You are acting cruelly, Odysseus! You yourself seem to be cast from copper, you don’t know fatigue - we are simple people, we’ve been sleeping on the ship for many nights, and now we want to go ashore, rest there and refresh ourselves. And tomorrow at dawn we will continue our voyage.”

Odysseus understood that they could not avoid trouble, but did not argue with his comrades. They landed on the island and pulled the ship ashore. We spent the night here, but in the morning a terrible storm began, and there was no way to go out to sea. The winds blew for a whole month. Odysseus and his companions ran out of all their supplies; They were increasingly tormented by hunger. But Odysseus made sure that they did not touch the bulls of Helios. One day Odysseus fell asleep, and in the meantime his companions decided to kill the bulls, and so that Helios would not be angry, they would take the precious gifts to his temple after returning.

A crime against the gods. Odysseus woke up, smelled the smell of fried meat and realized that his companions had committed a crime before the gods and doomed themselves to death. He was especially convinced of this by the terrible sign that the gods sent: the skins of the bulls moved as if alive, and the meat made a plaintive moo. Odysseus's companions were saved from hunger, and soon the storm stopped and they could set off.

But as soon as the island disappeared from view, the thunderer Zeus gathered heavy clouds over the ship. The wind came howling, the mast broke like a reed, lightning flashed - and only splinters remained from the ship. Odysseus managed to grab onto a piece of the mast and was carried along the waves. For nine days he carried him from end to end across the boundless sea, he almost fell into the mouth of Charybdis, and, fortunately, Skilla did not notice him. Finally, he washed up on some shore.

Odysseus sent some of his friends to the nymph’s dwelling to take Elpenor’s body from there. The rest, meanwhile, were cutting down the wood for the fire, and when the body was brought, they burned it along with the armor, erected a high burial mound over it and, at the request of the deceased, planted an oar on that hill. As soon as Circe learned that Odysseus and his friends had returned from the world of shadows, she came to the ship and brought bread, wine and meat to the guests. “All day long,” she told them, “enjoy food and drink, tomorrow at dawn, set off. I will show you the way and tell you about everything that can happen to you, so that you, through your foolishness, do not suffer new troubles at sea.” or on land." They feasted all day and the next morning they set off. The beautiful-haired goddess sent them a fair wind, and the ship sailed calmly, obeying the helm and the wind. Odysseus told his companions about everything that Circe had predicted for him.

Odysseus at the Island of the Sirens. Attic vase, ca. 480-470 BC.

First of all, they had to sail past the island of sweet-sounding sirens. These nymphs with their wonderful songs enchant everyone who approaches their shore on a fast ship, they make everyone forget about their dear homeland, about their wife and children; Enchanted, the swimmer hurries to land on the island of the Sirens, where certain death awaits him and the smoldering bones of the unfortunate sailors, carried away by the crafty maidens, lie in heaps. And Odysseus and his companions must avoid the sirens and stay away from the flowery shores of their island. Only Odysseus, said Circe, can listen to singers.

Odysseus and the Sirens. Painting by J. W. Waterhouse, 1891

And so, when the ship was approaching the island of the Sirens, Odysseus, remembering the advice of Circe, covered the ears of his companions with wax and ordered himself to be tied to the mast so that he would not be able to throw himself into the sea and swim to the fatal shore. The fair wind instantly died down and a wide, unshakably smooth sea spread out before the Achaeans. Then Odysseus's companions took off their sails and took up the oars. At the same time, the sirens on the island sang their wondrous song:

To us, God-equal Odysseus, great glory of the Achaeans,
Come to us with your ship and enjoy the sweet singing of the sirens:
Here no sailor passes with his ship.
I didn’t listen to the heart-melting singing in our meadow;
Whoever heard us returns to the house. I have known a lot.
We all know what happened in Trojan land and what
The fate of the Trojans and Achaeans suffered at the behest of the immortals.
We all know what is happening in the bosom of the multi-talented land.

Enchanted by the wondrous sounds of the sirens' song, Odysseus did not want to sail further. He rushed to the sirens on the island and begged his comrades with signs to free him. But, obeying the command previously given to them, they tied Odysseus even more tightly to the mast, hit the oars even harder and rowed until the island of the Sirens was left far behind.

Odysseus and the Sirens. Painting by G. Draper, c. 1909

She told what further dangers lurk on the way:

First of all, you will meet sirens who are singing
Everyone deceives people, no matter who meets them.
Whoever, unknowingly approaches them, hears their voice,
He will never return home. Neither spouse nor children
They will never run towards him with a joyful cry.
The sirens will enchant him with their sonorous song,
Sitting on a soft meadow. All around there are huge smoldering
Piles of human bones covered with wrinkled skin.
Drive your ship past. Cover up your comrades' ears,
Softened the honey-sweet wax so that no one could hear them
Satellite. And if you want, you can listen.
Let only your comrades tie your hands and feet tightly,
Standing, they will tie you to the base of the mast,
So that you can enjoy, both listening to the sirens.
If you start asking and order them to untie yourself,
Let them wrap even more belts around you.

(Homer "Odyssey", canto 12)

In ancient Greek mythology, sirens are demonic creatures born of the river Achelous and one of the muses (sirens inherited a divine voice from their mother). Sirens were half-birds, half-women (or half-fish, half-women). The first ship that sailed safely past the island of the Sirens was the Argo with the Argonauts, among whom was Laertes, the father of Odysseus. The Argonauts were saved by Orpheus, who was sailing with them, and drowned out the singing of the sirens with his singing and playing the lyre.

To save himself from death, Odysseus did as Circe advised: he covered the ears of his companions with wax, and he himself ordered himself to be tied to the mast. Odysseus heard this song of the sirens:

Come to us, Odysseus of great fame, great pride of the Achaeans!
Stop your ship to listen to our singing.
For no one in his ship will pass us without this,
So as not to listen to our flowing sweet songs from our lips
And you won’t return home delighted and having learned a lot.
We all know the works that are in extensive Troy
By the will of the gods, the Argives, as well as the Trojans, suffered.
We also know what is happening throughout the land of life.

Odysseus ordered to untie himself, but his companions only tied him tighter. After this, Odysseus's ship sailed safely from the island of the Sirens.










After the island of the Sirens, there was a new danger on Odysseus’s path - Scylla and Charybdis, about whom Circe also warned:

Two on the road, the second one has a cliff. One reaches
The sharp peak of the sky, the clouds crowd around it
Black. They never go away, at the top
The air there is never clear either in summer or autumn.
A mortal could not ascend the cliff or descend back.
Even when I could control twenty arms and legs, -
This rock is so smooth, as if it had been hewn by someone.
Gloomy there is a large cave in the middle of the cliff.
Its entrance faces the darkness, to the west, towards Erebus.
Send your ship past her, noble Odysseus.
Even the strongest shooter, aiming his bow from a ship,
I could not reach the hollow cave with my arrow.
The terribly growling Scylla lives in a rock cave.
Her voice sounds like a young puppy. The very same -
Evil monster. There is no one who, having seen her,
I felt joy in my heart, even if God had encountered it
Scylla has twelve legs, and all of them are thin and liquid.
Six long necks writhe on the shoulders, and on the necks
On a terrifying head, in each mouth in three rows
Abundant, frequent teeth full of black death.
In the lair she sits half her body,
Six heads protrude out over the terrible abyss,
They fumble along the smooth rock and grab the fish under it.
There are dolphins and sea dogs here; they grab big ones too
Monsters that Amphitrite grazes in abundance.
None of the sailors could boast that they passed
He and the ship passed unharmed: he's missing his husband
With each head she draws you into her cave.
There is another rock, Odysseus, you will see, lower,
Close to that one. He is only a bow shot away from her.
A fig tree with lush foliage grows wildly on that rock.
Directly below it from the divine Charybdis are black waters
They are raging terribly. She eats them three times a day
And it spews out three times. Look: when it absorbs -
Don't come any closer! Even the Landlord himself couldn’t save you here!
Stay close to the rock towards Scillina and as soon as possible
Drive a fast ship past. It's incomparably better
To lose six people from a ship is to lose them all.

Odysseus asked Circe if it was possible to repel Scylla’s attack without losing six comrades, to which he received the answer:

Know this: not mortal evil, but immortal Scylla. Fierce,
Terribly strong and wild. Fighting her is impossible.
You can't take it by force. The only salvation is in flight.

When Odysseus's ship found itself not far from Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus told the helmsman to avoid the whirlpool generated by Charybdis, and ordered the rowers to row with all their might, while Odysseus hid the existence of Scylla from his comrades, fearing that, having learned the danger awaiting them, they would hide inside the ship and refuse row. When the ship sailed past Scylla's cave, the monster grabbed six sailors, but the ship and the rest escaped.


The next day we buried the body of Elpenor and built a high mound over his grave. Having learned about our return, the sorceress Kirka also came to the seashore; Her maids followed her, they brought to the ship a lot of luxuriously prepared food and skins with wine. We feasted on the seashore until nightfall. When my companions went to bed, the sorceress Kirk told me what dangers lay ahead of me on the way, and taught me how to avoid them.

As soon as the morning dawn flared up in the sky, I woke up my comrades. We lowered the ship to the sea, the rowers leaned on the oars together, and the ship rushed into the open sea. A fair wind inflated the sails, and we sailed calmly across the sea. The island of the sirens was already not far away. Then I turned to my companions:

Friends! Now we must sail past the island of the sirens. With their singing they lure sailors sailing past and put them to cruel death. Their entire island is strewn with the bones of people they tore to pieces. I will cover your ears with soft wax so that you do not hear their singing and die, but you will tie me to the mast, the sorceress Kirk allowed me to hear the singing of the sirens. If I, enchanted by their singing, ask you to untie me, then you will tie me even tighter.

As soon as I said this, the tailwind suddenly died down. My comrades lowered the sail and sat down at the oars. The island of the sirens was already visible. I covered the ears of my companions with wax, and they tied me so tightly to the mast that I could not move a single joint. Our ship sailed quickly past the island, and from it came the enchanting singing of sirens.

Oh, sail to us, great Odysseus! - so the sirens sang, - send your ship to us to enjoy our singing. Not a single sailor will sail past without listening to our sweet singing. Having enjoyed it, he leaves us having learned a lot. We all know - what the Greeks suffered by the will of the gods at Troy, and what is happening on earth.

Fascinated by their singing, I signaled to my comrades to untie me. But, remembering my instructions, they bound me even tighter. Only then did my companions take the wax out of my ears and untied me from the mast, when the island of the sirens had already disappeared from our eyes. The ship sailed calmly further and further, but suddenly I heard a terrible noise in the distance and saw smoke. I knew it was Charybdis. My comrades got scared, let go of the oars, and the ship stopped. I walked around my companions and began to encourage them.

Friends! We have experienced many troubles, we have avoided many dangers, - so I said, - the danger that we have to overcome is no more terrible than the one that we experienced in the cave of Polyphemus. Don’t lose courage, lean harder on the oars! Zeus will help us avoid death. Direct the ship further away from the place where smoke is visible and a terrible noise is heard. Drive closer to the cliff!

I encouraged my companions. They leaned on the oars with all their might. I didn’t tell them anything about Skill. I knew that Skill would snatch only six companions from me, and in Charybdis we would all die. I myself, forgetting Kirka’s instructions, grabbed a spear and began to wait for Skilla’s attack. I looked for her with my eyes in vain.

The ship sailed quickly along the narrow strait. We saw how Charybdis absorbed sea water: the waves bubbled around her mouth, and in her deep belly, as if in a cauldron, sea mud and earth boiled. When she spewed out water, the water boiled and seethed around her with a terrible roar, and salty spray flew up to the very top of the cliff. Pale with horror, I looked at Charybdis. At this time, the terrible Skilla stretched out all six of her necks and grabbed six of my companions with her six huge mouths with three rows of teeth. I only saw how their arms and legs flashed in the air, and heard how they called for my help. At the entrance to her cave, Skilla devoured them; In vain did the unfortunate people stretch out their hands to me in supplication. With great difficulty we passed Charybdis and Skilla and sailed to the island of the god Helios - Trinacria.

Odysseus and the Sirens

The intended location is the Galli Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the travelers were leaving the island of Aea, Circe warned of the danger awaiting the heroes near the island of the Sirens. These creatures mesmerize mortals with their wonderful singing, and they remain in their power forever. Sailing to the island, Odysseus ordered his companions to plug their ears with wax, and tied himself to the mast. As soon as he heard the sirens singing, Odysseus tried to free himself, but his companions did not allow him to do this. The ship safely passed the dangerous island.

Homer was the first to mention sirens. But in the Odyssey all that is said about them is that sailors must be wary of the singing of the “wonderful voices,” otherwise they will not return to their homeland. This barely outlined image inflamed the imagination of the listeners of the poem. In Ancient Greece, the myth of the sirens acquired more and more new details. Firstly, they had a pedigree. They inherited the siren's voice from their mother-muse and at first were no different from ordinary women. But the aunt-muses, fearing for their position on Parnassus, disfigured the newly-minted warblers, turning them into a hybrid of humans and birds.

According to another version, the sirens became friends with Persephone, whom Hades dragged into the kingdom of the dead. The friends did not suspect this and begged the gods to give them the opportunity to look for the missing one on earth, in the sky and under water. So the sirens divided into half birds and half fish. The following string of myths explained why sirens are dangerous to people. Mortals refused to help them look for Persephone, and then the sirens decided to take revenge. The fish maidens, singing, drew the sailors into the depths of the sea. The winged maidens sucked the blood of those who stopped to listen to them.

At this point, the plot suggested by Homer was exhausted. And then the myth of the death of the sirens was born. Odysseus was declared the savior from this scourge. He was the only one who did not land on the island; this was the first time the songbirds had made a mistake. Out of despair, the bird maidens rushed into the sea and turned into rocks. At first they forgot about the fish maidens, but in the Middle Ages the peoples of Europe borrowed this image in tales about treacherous mermaids and undines. The siren birds also resurrected, turning, for example, into the characters of Slavic legends - the birds Sirin and Phoenix.

Where did the events that gave rise to the myths about the sirens take place? You can, of course, look for their “graves” in the Mediterranean Sea - rocks sticking out alone from the water. But a much more interesting version is that Homer could consider the sounds associated with the singing of sirens natural features specific place on the coast. For example, in the Gulf of Salerno there is the Galli Archipelago. The configuration of the coastal rocks here is such that they amplify the sounds coming towards the sea. The cries of the seals that have taken a liking to the islands, passing through this megaphone, can easily be mistaken for the sounds of a human voice...

Homer did not specify how many sirens there were on the island. The Greeks usually depicted three. The myth says that they drowned themselves after a mishap with Odysseus. The body of one of them washed ashore where Naples is now located.

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